Morning / Evening

In the morning, he sits next to me and shares sips of my tea (if I'm sharing).

In the evening, he sits on my legs and drives to far-off lands while I read, with distracting car noises, to boot.  

Willing and Able

Ezekiel woke up in time to help me plant the last round of our seedlings.

Thank goodness.  Superman wields a color-coordinating spoon better than anyone.

39+ Weeks

This post is fondly dedicated to my unidentified bachelor brother, who called last week and informed me that he hates looking at Frugal Fancy-Pants posts in which I try and fail to simultaneously pull off Fancy and Very Large.   (The word "terrible" was also used, by whom I shall not say...)

I don't have the time right now to do a full F.F.P. post, as was my intent, but this snapshot's for you, Joel! unidentified bachelor brother!

Total cost of this outfit was about fifteen cents, so it counts.

Leftovers

We're still waiting on the flowers outside to bloom, but Millie brought in some buds a couple of weeks ago.  They bloomed in our warm house while six inches of accumulated snow carpeted the lawn.

I know it's probably bad form to post this picture, but he is so cute.

Here, too, and I'm not breaking rules of etiquette with this one.

Boys on the bed.

Girls on the couch.

The Baby's Here!

Bursting with pride, it is with great pleasure that we announce the arrival of our newest baby...

a dainty GIRL!

Because you're all interested in the details--

Name: Sophie

Weight: nearly 4 ounces

Length: 4" from beak to downy tail feathers

Here's the proud mama shortly after bringing her home.

What a sweet, little thing, holding her head up and already so alert!

I keep a steady keel on shotsnaps, sticking to fluff and nonsense, usually, because it's easiest for me, but along with some big things, I leave out lots of little things, too, and I never mentioned on here that our entire flock was decimated in a weasel's one-night slaughter at the tail end of last fall.  The girls were devastated, but the hope of chicks in the spring sustained them through a featherless winter.  

So now we have 18 chicks in our basement, with half a dozen more to come this week.  Hey, at least they're not in the bathtub this time.

Genuine Article

Oh, so mean.  

As consolation, here are the only snapshots we have of the real babe so far.

I went for my first prenatal appointment at what I thought was 30 weeks along, but which ended up being close to 34 weeks along, so this first (and last) ultrasound of Polka'poose is of a baby almost ready to meet us!

I really hope he or she is that chubby.  My goodness.

Here's a sneak peek at the cutest leg bone I ever did see.

Nesting has kicked in full force, and though I've never been prepared enough to freeze meals ahead of time for the last seven babies, the stars aligned, I was possessed by Susie Homemaker, and quite a few meals are prepared, marked with a sign for Polka'poose,  and tucked away in the freezer.  Soon!

Nixie Pixie Turns Twelve

Twelve years ago, this girl won a pearl for the nurse who delivered her.  After telling me I wasn't in true labor and advising me to go home and have a glass of wine, the attending midwife left for home, herself, leaving the pleasure of delivering a Nixie to the nurse who popped into the room on our request, and who told us with delight that her mother now owed her another pearl for a necklace she built pearl-by-pearl from the babies she delivered. 

I remember telling John, "This baby had BETTER come before midnight!"  and the nurses had me sign the hospital admittance papers seconds before Annika entered the world.  How disappointing it would have been to have missed an April Fool's baby by a hair.  A dozen days overdue, she was worth the wait-- our little Foolish Baby, born in the nick of time half an hour before April Fool's Day ended.

She's better than a thousand strings of pearls, too.

I was going to make her requested fancy ice cream layer cake, but the week before her birthday, John showed her an April Fool's Day breakfast suggestion he'd cut out from a magazine-- a cup of yogurt, covered in cookie crumbs to look like dirt.  The fancy cake turned into a dirt ice cream cake on the spot, with my hearty approval.

Perhaps the easiest cake I've ever made.  Layers of ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, and cookie crumbs...

Her birthday supper was even easy!  She normally asks for chiles rellenos, which is one of the most involved meals I make. This year?  TACOS.  What a gift!  I felt like it was my birthday.

Opening presents after supper, she attacked my mother with exuberant thanks.

Susannah bought re-lighting candles to put on the cake, which was an utter surprise to Annika, and which made the whole house jolly as we watched her surprise when they just wouldn't die out.

Nearly every year, she declares her birthday, "The BEST birthday I've ever had!"  This year was no exception, but it might just have been her best yet.  Hannah came for a sleepover, and following in Susannah's footsteps, Annie chose to go roller-skating after eating out on her birthday date with John. I suppose getting a unicycle from Grandma Owen may have helped tip the scales a bit, too...stay tuned for news of NO head injuries and emergency room visits.

A Little Fire Slumbers

Frugal Fancy-Pants: Countdown

Countdown to both Baby AND the black-leather-maternity-pants-at-40-weeks-mark...

Exhibit A: 38 Weeks

Wear this outfit to church when the snow comes back.  Be glad for its comfortable stretch because you end up eating food enough for 5 at the ensuing church meal before going to the Sciencenter with your Heart and all the kiddos.

Outfit:

-dress: hand-me-down

-belt: under a nickel

-maternity skirt: rummage sale for under a nickel

-medical compression stockings: free

-black boots: borrowed from the biggest daughter who has nice boots

-little bird earrings: hand-me-downs

-black necklace: rummage sale for under a nickel

Total: under fifteen cents

Optional accessories: 

-A Very Sore Body: free with pregnancy SPD

-A grim expression: free with a Very Sore Body

Here's the front view, to show off the striped belly.

Exhibit B: 38 Weeks 

Forty-five minutes after Millie took the snapshots above, observe the glorious transformation back to real life.

Wear this "outfit" on a Sunday afternoon, when winter has returned with howling wind and snow, the roads are covered, and-- hopefully-- no one will unexpectedly drop by.

Outfit: 

Black hat: rummage sale for under a nickel

White stretchy shirt: rummage sale for under a nickel

Red flannel pajama pants: part of a Christmas pajama set given to me a couple of years ago

Slippers: Christmas gift from a couple of years ago

My Husband's Bathrobe: a semi-permanent loan, courtesy of my Heart

Optional accessories:

-A happier expression, because at long last, you're sloppy and comfortable!: free

-Yellow duck towel, hung to dry by your stylish elbow

Side-by-side comparison:

Today

I was going to put up some words to offset all the silliness below, but I'm tired of staring at this screen and have nothing left to give.  Polka'poose is nearly ready to meet us-- only a little over 2 weeks left.  My birthday is on April 15th, so perhaps then?  Sleep is fitful, life is full, and March marches away.  Snow is in the forecast next week, but, today, spring rises from the earth and flavors the breeze that comes through the open window.  

The words that matter--

He will swallow up death in victory, 

and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all of the faces;

and the rebuke of His people shall He take from off all the earth:

for the LORD hath spoken it.

Bolting the Door

Someone's learning to sit on a toilet.

And he likes privacy.